BEST TOP 10 NETBOOK

Eee PC 901

The Eee PC 900 series breathed life into the 8.9-inch netbook market and proved to most people that 7-inch models, such as the Eee PC 701, were simply too small. It also pioneered the use of the Atom N270 CPU, and served as a reference model for much of the industry.

Design and usability

The 900-series chassis isn’t markedly different to that of the 700-series, so it’s still relatively unattractive, but feels solid as a rock. The keyboard is extremely small, making touch-typing and the production of lengthy documents an almost futile exercise. The 901’s one saving grace in this regard is its gesture-compatible mouse controls, which interpret your pinching, stretching and stroking motions with zooming and scrolling commands. As a result, surfing the Web is quite easy.

Connectivity

The Eee PC 901 was probably the first netbook to feature 802.11n Wi-Fi as well as Bluetooth for high-speed networking and easy-ish file transfer between devices. The Eee PC 901 Go, available in very limited numbers, even shipped with an internal HSDPA modem, so users could access the Internet anywhere they could find a 3G mobile phone signal. Three USB ports, integrated Ethernet, plus headphone and mic ports round off the package.

Performance and battery life

The Eee PC 901 ran rings around its little brother, the 700, thanks to its pioneering use of the Intel Atom N270 CPU. It’s hardly any different to the others in this list — they’ve all followed in its footsteps — but it’s good to know a netbook this old can still keep pace with the new kids on the block. When it comes to battery life, the 901 does more than just keep up — it lasted a very impressive 4 hours 30 minutes in our tests.

Should I buy it?

If typing long documents isn’t a priority, then the Eee PC 901 is a great buy. It’s relatively inexpensive, has great battery life and offers performance on a par with larger, more modern netbooks.

Places to buy: AMAZON.COM

By Cnet.co.uk